Make and mow Land Art Competition

Last June I took part in a land art competition called Make and Mow. It took place in Bristol (UK) as part of the Earthed Weekender held during the Big Green Week. The aim of the Green Week was to promote environmental awareness as well as to promote Bristol as European Green Capital for 2015.

Earthed is an imaginative land art and theatre project that drew out the stories, ecology, memories, geology, history and archaeology of a green site – including the myths and folklore of the landscape on which the city is built – to inspire a giant piece of storytelling, designed to be experienced in green spaces, that encourages a sense of curiosity, adventure and connection to the earth beneath our feet. The land art project was located in Ashton Meadows, a green area just across the Create Centre and next to the Brunel Way in the southwest of the city. Members of the public were encouraged to create a stunning new design for a large-scale piece of land art. The winning design was mown into a grass circle at the end of the Green Week, making it visible for all the people who visit the area as well as thousands of drivers who pass over on Brunel Way each day. Many designs were submitted but only three of them reached the final.

I had a wonderful surprise when I received a call from the Making and mow team saying that my design had been selected to be mown in the circle. According to land art artist Mick Petts, member of the jury, my design had been chosen because of “the strength and clarity of the design and the combination of geometric and flowing lines.” The concept of the design was the joining together of nature and mankind. The land art piece was located in an area where the floating harbour and the natural river come together, a place full of man created structures such us motorways, roads and bridges, but surrounded by meadows and forests at the same time. On Sunday 22nd June 2014, a team from Earthed spent the afternoon mowing the winning Make and Mow design into the long grass at Ashton Meadows. I attended the mowing and had the opportunity to help to mark the loop. The design was supposed to be there for about three weeks but finally it lasted for two months. It has helped me to see how the design has changed throughout the days, due to the changes in the grass colours and height. It was a very rewarding experience where I made my little contribution to raise awareness about the importance of taking care of the environment and I also had the opportunity to meet very interesting people involved in this project.